Bryan Kohberger’s legal team is contending his autism diagnosis should prevent him from receiving the death penalty in the event that he’s found guilty of murdering four University of Idaho students back in 2022.
Kohberger, a former Washington State University PhD candidate, is accused of of killing Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, 21-year-old best friends, as well as their housemate, Xana Kernodle, and her boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, both 20.
All four students were found fatally stabbed inside a home in Moscow, near their university’s campus on Nov. 14, sparking a weeks-long manhunt for the suspect. The search culminated in Kohberger’s arrest weeks later at his parents’ home in eastern Pennsylvania on Dec. 30 of that year.
When asked to enter a plea, Kohberger remained silent, forcing a judge to file a not-guilty plea on his behalf. Prosecutors have previously said they will seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted.
In a recent motion titled, “To Strike Death Penalty RE: Autism Spectrum Disorder,” attorney Anne Taylor argued that sentencing Kohberger to death — should he be found guilty of the quadruple homicide — would be a violation of the Eighth Amendment, TMZ reported. She specifically referenced a 2002 Atkins v. Virginia U.S. Supreme Court ruling which bars those with intellectual disabilities from being executed for a crime.
Kohberger was formally diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder last month by a neuropsychologist, who said he “continues to exhibit all the core diagnostic features of ASD currently, with significant impact on his daily life,” per documents cited by TMZ.
While autism is not technically classified as a disability, Taylor argued that it should be in this case, specifically citing the fact that Kohberger has difficulty communicating about the case with his legal team.
“There is little doubt that this reality will overpower any mitigating arguments based on ASD as a matter of course, amounting to an unconstitutional risk that Mr. Kohberger — on account of his disability — will be unreliably convicted and sentenced to death,” Taylor wrote.
Kohberger’s trial is slated to begin in August.